Two Los Angeles educators (and United Teachers of Los Angeles union members) share lessons for how the Community Self-Defense Coalition of Los Angeles has been essential at building grassroots community safety around schools to protect students from human trafficking kidnappings.
“In California, about one in five K–12 students come from mixed status families, meaning at least one parent is undocumented. Every school day, these students face the possibility of coming home to find a close family member missing. Just the other day I received a message from a student letting me know that since neighbors had observed someone taking photos of her father’s work truck, she and her siblings wouldn’t be coming to school. Messages like this are a sharp reminder of why this work matters.
According to UTLA leaders, enrollment across Los Angeles Unified has dropped by roughly 20,000 students this school year in conjunction with the increased ICE presence in our city. In addition to the trauma of losing so many students, this decline carries economic consequences for teachers and school support staff, who may find themselves displaced due to budget shortfalls….
….In California, about one in five K–12 students come from mixed status families, meaning at least one parent is undocumented. Every school day, these students face the possibility of coming home to find a close family member missing. Just the other day I received a message from a student letting me know that since neighbors had observed someone taking photos of her father’s work truck, she and her siblings wouldn’t be coming to school. Messages like this are a sharp reminder of why this work matters.
According to UTLA leaders, enrollment across Los Angeles Unified has dropped by roughly 20,000 students this school year in conjunction with the increased ICE presence in our city. In addition to the trauma of losing so many students, this decline carries economic consequences for teachers and school support staff, who may find themselves displaced due to budget shortfalls.”
Continue reading the full article here: https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/now-is-the-time-to-defend-our-students/
Follow the Community Self Defense Coalition on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/communityselfdefensecoalition/
Support UTLA: https://utla.net/
